Antuki: A Little Boy's Story

Chapter 2: Never Neverland

By the time they arrived in the Land of Dreams, Akio had forgotten the horror of the blast and was well-nigh to forgetting his Father and Mother too. And he certainly would've forgotten them entirely, except for reasons which shall become evident.

As always, there was a troupe of Lost Boys ready to welcome their captain home. Now, these weren't the same boys you've read about in other stories, for Tootles and Nibs, Slightly, Curly, and the Twins had all left Neverland to grow up. In their place, a new generation of Lost Boys had sprung up for whom Jane Darling, and not Wendy, was their mother.

Let's meet these new Lost Boys one by one. The first up is Kamar, a lanky boy who was born during an eclipse. To no one's surprise, he developed an interest in shadows and how they work. Next, we find Trenches, who lost a brother fighting in them and is now averse to warfare. The queerest of the boys is Froyd, who spouts pure balderdash and named himself for his father's favourite word. In fourth comes the strongest of Peter's crew: Black Swan, an ebony-skinned lad who pirates and Indians know to fear. Rounding out the group are Lehigh, a papoose who defected to the Boys, and Tobal, who learned his name from a torn piece of his birth certificate.

These were the newfound companions of Akio Sakai, and did he have much to learn from them! It took him many moons to adjust to Neverland, but he eventually gained proficiency in the basic skills of Lost Boyhood: hunting, fishing, swimming, and fighting.

When duelling, Akio's preferred weapon was a bō staff, given the abundance of bamboo on the island. Allow him to but retreat into the woods, and he'd emerge with a staff to take on whatever beasts or pirates were around. It was not long ere whispers of a 'Mongoloid monkey' began spreading aboard the Jolly Roger, to the irritation of Captain Jas. Hook.

Now Hook was the king of pirates and the undisputed scourge of Neverland. While rumour had it that he'd perished within a crocodile's belly, not even such a prison could hold the pirate forever. He'd emerged alive, though a lesser man, and managed to exact a measure of revenge upon Peter Pan. It'd taken Wendy Darling and a kiss from her to restore the Captain to his former glory.

But restore him they did, and now Blackbeard's bo'sun was free to menace the seas once more. And at the top of his 'To-Do' list was to make an end of the insufferable Peter Pan.

Peter, on the other hand, had one thing which every boy who served under him had to promise: that if they encountered Hook in open fight, they were to leave him to the Pan. Like every good Lost Boy, Akio had every intention of complying by this rule.

The turning point came one summer afternoon, when the Lost Boys and Hook's crew were locked in mortal combat. The Captain had been raising a priceless treasure from the bottom of the lagoon when Peter and his followers swooped in to foil their plans. Enraged, Hook ordered his men to strike at the boys without mercy.

It was a terrific battle, which none of the boys (except for Peter) were soon to forget. While Trenches slipped quietly into the Jolly Roger's cabin to retrieve the loot, Kamar took delight hiding in the shadows and frightening each pirate before slaying them. Still, he was disappointed that most of Hook's men were roaming out in the open, severely limiting the number of kills he could make.

Meanwhile, Lehigh was decked in full war paint, felling pirates with his tomahawk. The Piccaninny blood in his veins ran hot, fuelling his vigour with each villain he slew. Obediently, though, he took care not to come within ten yards of Hook.

High above them, Froyd was dropping eggs, coconuts, and loose cannonballs onto Hook's men below. He was forced to retreat once the pirates started shooting at him with firearms and crossbows. That didn't bother Black Swan one bit, as he hacked his way through the ruffians as if through undergrowth.

On the other side of the ship, Tobal and Akio were fighting back-to-back, fending off waves of attackers. The two boys had grown fond of each other, often choosing to battle as a team. While Akio made ranged attacks with his staff, Tobal fenced and parried with his Spanish rapier.

"How do you fare, Akio?" he asked his younger friend.

"Never better, To-chan," answered Akio enthusiastically. He didn't know what it was about Tobal that made him so personable, but he was glad of it all the same.

Suddenly, the boys heard a heavy thump behind them, and turned to see what the cause was. The sight made their blood run cold.

It was Captain Jas. Hook, sword drawn, dressed in rich red battle regalia, and pointing a gleaming iron claw at them.